Editing Second Crusade (section)

== Forces ==
=== Muslims ===
[[File:Badr al-Din Lulu frontispiece (guards).jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Zengid]] soldiers, armed with long swords and wearing Turkic military dress: the ''[[Qaba|aqbiya turkiyya]]'' coat, ''[[tiraz]]'' armbands, boots and ''[[sharbush]]'' hat. Manuscript ''[[Kitab al-Aghani]]'', 1218–1219, [[Mosul]].<ref name="DSR">{{Cite journal |last=Rice |first=D. S. |year=1953 |title=The Aghānī Miniatures and Religious Painting in Islam |journal=The Burlington Magazine |volume=95 |issue=601 |page=130 |issn=0007-6287 |jstor=871101}}</ref>]]
The professional soldiers of the Muslim states, who were usually ethnic [[Turkish people|Turks]], tended to be very well-trained and equipped. The basis of the military system in the Islamic Middle East was the ''[[iqta']]'' system of fiefs, which supported a certain number of troops in every district. In the event of war, the ''[[ahdath]]'' militias, based in the cities under the command of the ''ra’is'' (chief), and who were usually ethnic Arabs, were called upon to increase the number of troops. The ''ahdath'' militia, though less well trained than the Turkish professional troops, were often very strongly motivated by religion, especially the concept of [[jihad]]. Further support came from [[Turkmen people|Turkmen]] and [[Kurd]]ish auxiliaries, who could be called upon in times of war, though these forces were prone to indiscipline.{{sfn|Nicolle|2009|pp=28–30}}

The principal Islamic commander was [[Mu'in ad-Din Unur]], the ''atabeg'' of Damascus from 1138 to 1149. Damascus was supposedly ruled by the [[Burid dynasty]] of Damascus, but Anur, who commanded the military, was the real ruler of the city. The historian David Nicolle described Anur as an able general and diplomat, also well known as a patron of the arts. Because the Burid dynasty was displaced in 1154 by the [[Zengid dynasty]], Anur's role in repulsing the Second Crusade has been largely erased with historians and chroniclers loyal to the Zengids giving the credit to Anur's rival, [[Nur al-Din Zengi]], the emir of Aleppo.{{sfn|Nicolle|2009|pp=19–21}}

=== Crusaders ===
The German contingent comprised about 20,000 knights; the French contingent had about 700 knights from the king's lands while the nobility raised smaller numbers of knights; and the Kingdom of Jerusalem had about 950 knights and 6,000 infantrymen.{{sfn|Nicolle|2009|p=24}}

The French knights preferred to fight on horseback, while the German knights liked to fight on foot. The [[Byzantine Greeks|Byzantine Greek]] chronicler [[John Kinnamos]] wrote "the French are particularly capable of riding horseback in good order and attacking with the spear, and their cavalry surpasses that of the Germans in speed. The Germans, however, are able to fight on foot better than the French and excel in using the great sword."{{sfn|Nicolle|2009|pp=26–27}}

Conrad III was considered to be a brave knight, though often described as indecisive in moments of crisis.{{sfn|Nicolle|2009|p=17}} Louis VII was a devout Christian with a sensitive side who was often attacked by contemporaries like Bernard of Clairvaux for being more in love with his wife Eleanor than he was interested in war or politics.{{sfn|Nicolle|2009|p=18}}

[[Stephen, King of England]] did not participate in the second crusade due to internal conflicts in his kingdom.{{sfn|Schmieder|O'Doherty|2015|pp=121–138}} Meanwhile, King [[David I of Scotland]] was dissuaded by his subjects from joining the crusade himself.{{sfn|Cowan|Mackay|Macquarrie|1983|p=18}}